


Viva Pawnee

by fangirl_squee



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Crossover, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-24 23:21:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night after Ben Wyatt meets Leslie Knope for the first time he dreams of bloody revolutions and a leader who won’t show their face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Viva Pawnee

**Author's Note:**

> Parks and Recreation/Les Miserables reincarnation crossover! That’s right; it’s one of the saddest things in the world mixed with one of the happiest tv shows in the world.
> 
> You probably do need at least a passing knowledge of who the Parks and Rec characters are for this (and you should watch Parks and Recreation anyway, because it is literally the best show – if you need an example of why I would say 3.02 Flu Season is an excellent example (it’s also a good example of Ben Wyatt being totally in Grantaire-level awe of Leslie Knope)). This is set during S3 of Parks and Rec, although I did mess around with some of the timeline. Also, it’s probably obvious from this fic that I adore Leslie Knope? I just think she’s The Best.
> 
> There’s also a few Game of Thrones references because Ben and Leslie (and multiple other Parks Department characters) are canonically fans of the series.
> 
> For westwardflight (sorry this took me so long, you are a beautiful starfish for being so patient), and beta'd by the wonderful besanii.

The first time Ben Wyatt meets Leslie Knope, he gets a strange feeling of déjà vu. It’s more than his usual feeling of sameness that follows him through every small town. She’s passionate about every aspect of Pawnee and it pulls at something in his memory, but nothing definite comes to the surface.

 

“Have we met before?”

 

She frowns, and something about the way her lips turn down _tugs_ at his memory again. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty good with faces.”

 

She hates him, of course. People usually do. One of the downsides to being partnered with Chris Traeger, _literally_ the world’s most enthusiastically positive auditor, is that it makes Ben’s cynicism seem harsher than it really is. He’s often felt that being cynical should be in his job description, seeing town after town run into the ground by incompetent leadership (including his own, but he tends not to dwell on that as he stares up at peeling motel ceilings, trying to sleep).

 

When Ben tells her that her town isn’t special, Leslie’s eyes flash and he feels that _pull_ again. It’s like the memory slips out of his grasp just as he reaches for it. He puts the feeling out of his mind while going through the facts and figures – how much needs to be cut from the budget and from what department. It’s possible she hates him even _more_ by the end of their first meeting.

 

Ben tries to find her that night, to apologise. She’s with her friends at the Snakehole Lounge, and she slurs at him to _get out, no one wants you here_.

 

He almost says, _no wonder you never drink, you’re a terrible drunk_ _,_ but stops himself. It’s the first in a long line of thoughts like that, a flash of intimate knowledge he couldn’t possibly have.

 

That night, as he sleeps on the lumpy motel mattress, he dreams of alcohol-soaked wood and gunfire smoke. Red flags wave above the noise of gunshots, and there’s someone else there, someone blonde and fierce. He wakes up before he can see their face.

 

 

Leslie apologises a few days later over beers and Ben shares with her his period as the worst possible mayor of all time. She tells him she was _jealous._

 

Ben looks down, fiddling with the label on his beer. “That’s not what people usually say.”

 

“Why?” she says, curious, “what do people usually say?”

 

Ben tries to smile. “That I was an idiot.”

 

Leslie bumps their shoulders together awkwardly. He can appreciate the gesture, even if he’s not used to that level of camaraderie from council employees.

 

“At least you tried! The town believed in you, and you did your best. That’s what matters,” says Leslie.

 

He’s never met someone so sincerely idealistic. She tells him her plans for her park, her wild and wonderful ideas for her town’s future. They’re all totally, impossibly over-budget, of course, but Ben doesn’t doubt she’ll make it happen. She smiles at him, brilliant and bright, and for the first time in a long time Ben _believes_.

 

 

He has another dream that night, but the only thing he remembers from it when he wakes up is the smell of cheap wine and his own hoarse voice saying _I believe in you_.

 

 

They work better together after that, even if they continue to be at odds over the town’s financial state (and politics. And history. And who should win the Iron Throne). It’s hard _not_ to be impressed by her persistence (fourteen meeting requests in two days is _a lot_ by any standard), but it’s her constant, unwavering enthusiasm for her beloved Pawnee that sets her apart from everyone he’s worked with as an auditor. Leslie’s the sort of person who could cheerfully convince mountains to move if she wanted them in a better position.

 

The people she works with adore her and fight for her even when they are completely apathetic about everything else. Leslie just has that ability to rally people around her and get them to work together for something greater. She inspires people and, by the time the Harvest Festival gets under way, Ben feels a little inspired too. Following her feels natural and easy, as though it’s something he’s done all his life.

 

Ben just wishes he knew what it means to be almost constantly in a state of déjà vu.

 

 

She defends him on Pawnee Today, even though he doesn’t feel like he’s done anything worthy enough for her to assume the best of him. It’s strange having someone believe in him.

 

 

( _I believe in you_ , his dream self says. Ben has the dream over and over again, but he can never quite remember who he was talking to after he wakes up.)

 

 

When he and Chris get the call to go back to Indianapolis, Ben decides to stay. Chris doesn’t want to leave either, which makes it easier to sell to their bosses. Ben thinks it probably has something to do with the doctor he met when he had the flu – or maybe the woman from the hospital gift shop. Chris talks about both of them with equal affection.

 

Their schedules are rearranged, giving them until after the Harvest Festival. Despite the pollution, small town politics, and general insanity of population, Ben thinks that he’s going to miss Pawnee when they have to move on. Something about it makes him feel as though, for the first time in his life, he _fits_.

 

 

Leslie gathers the Parks Department employees (as well Ann, Chris, and himself) together as the gates to the Harvest Festival are about to open, giving them a rousing speech. It’s one of her best – making them all feel proud of what they’ve done so far and hopeful about what the day might bring. The corners of April’s mouth twitch upwards for a second, which the happiest he’s even seen her.

 

The sun changes position as she speaks, a beam of light comes from behind the Ferris wheel and turns Leslie’s hair golden in the morning sunlight. It’s funny really, what triggers memory. The light around Leslie gleams and Ben thinks _Apollo._

Just like that, everything falls into place.

 

He stumbles into Tom, tripping over his own feet and falling backwards. Ben blinks up at them from his position on the ground and he can see, for a moment, their faces as he used to know them - Courfeyrac, Bossuet, Combeferre and Enjolras – hovering above him. The past feels like a weight on his chest, holding him down.

 

Ann – Combeferre – _Ann_ frowns at him. “Maybe we should take you to the first aid tent, just to be safe.”

 

“I’m fine,” he says – and the words feel strange in his mouth, like he’s trying out a language for the first time.

 

Ann drags him to the first aid tent anyway, checking him over as thoroughly as he’ll let her. He can see Combeferre in the slope of her shoulders as she looks over the  supplies and he swallows, trying to get the taste of stale wine out of his mouth.

 

Ann pronounces him “fine” (and Tom pronounces him “no weirder than before”, his grin is as sharp and charming as Courfeyrac’s ever was), and the others are too distracted trying  to stop Joan Callamezzo from bringing down the festival to question it. Ben spends the day in a haze, the feelings of being in the wrong century permeating every sight and sound (and smell) of his surroundings.

 

The festival is a huge success and it feels like they won a battle against the odds. Leslie varies between ecstatic and proud as the day goes on, finishing at ecstatically proud.

 

Ben tries to keep his mind of the day’s weirdness as they pack up. He makes the mistake of looking over at Leslie as she takes down the red banners marking the food stall section. She looks triumphant, laughing with Ann and waving the red material around as she gestures.

 

He quickly excuses himself from where he’s moving hay bales with Andy and finds the nearest toilet. He dry heaves, stomach rolling and clenching as images of Leslie and Enjolras flash through his mind. He manages to get himself under control quickly enough so no one questions his absence, and heads back to his motel room as soon as he can.

 

When Ben finally falls asleep that night, he dreams of running after someone through the festival’s corn maze, the flash of a red banner just out of his reach.

 

 

He’s supposed to be packing up his desk, but instead he’s typing a resignation email. He’s on draft number five when Leslie knocks on the door.

 

Ben frowns slightly, because Leslie doesn’t look like her normal perky self (she looks more like Enjolras this way, serious and still). “Hey, what’s up?”

 

“Chris said you guys might be leaving,” says Leslie. She’s still hovering in the doorway, one hand resting on the frame.

 

“We’re supposed to be, but –”

 

“Don’t,” says Leslie, cutting him off.

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t go. You were a big help when we were doing the Harvest Festival, and you’re a good fit here,” Leslie says “Stay here, help me build something. I believe in what we can do.”

 

( _I believe in you._ )

 

He stays.

 

 

Ben starts meeting Leslie for lunch, under the mural of wildflowers on the floor above her office. They might still disagree – loudly and often – about the nature of politics (real life and in _Westeros_ ), and about her endless optimism for everything except Eagleton and monarchies, but Leslie smiles when she sees him now. It’s enough – it’s _more_ than enough – to stay here and disagree with Leslie about politics.

 

 

Afterwards, they all get _ridiculously drunk_ on Snakejuice (and, seriously, who lets Tom do this stuff?) and after _that_ they’re all extremely hungover. Even Leslie’s usually bright enthusiasm is dampened, but Ben suspects that has more to do with her fight with Ann. When they have a meeting (which turns into ‘half an hour of sitting motionless in semi-darkness’), Leslie stares at the photo of her and Ann she keeps on her desk.

 

When Ben goes to see Ann, she’s wearing ski pants and glasses.

 

“I was in too much pain when I woke up to deal with contacts,” says Ann, and she moves slowly back to the couch.

 

He tells how important she is to Leslie (which she already knows, of course).  He can’t help staring – the familiar way she pushes the glasses up her nose makes his chest ache. The impression stays even after he heads back to the office, wisps of it clinging to his memory.

 

 

(He has a dream about moths that night, fluttering around a candle. In the dream there’s someone else in the room with him, their voice a smooth murmur in the background.)

 

 

Chris sends Ben and Leslie travelling together to Indianapolis, to convince the Indiana Little League Association to bring their tournaments to Pawnee. Ann and Tom both tell him to be on his best behaviour, even though Ben is very much aware of how big of a deal this is. Leslie is trusting him with the town – _her_ town.

 

 

The night before they set out, he has a nightmare about letting her down. He wakes up with drunken laughter and the clack of dominoes ringing in his ears.

 

 

He tries not to focus on the rolling in his stomach as they wait to go in. Leslie is, of course, full of her usual optimism. When they’re faced with the blank-bored faces of the panel, Leslie seems to deflate a little, pausing in her speech.

 

“What advantages can Pawnee give us over other cities?”

 

“The advantage is that it’s a wonderful city,” Ben says. “I mean, look, I’ve been to forty some-odd towns in Indiana, and Pawnee is special. I mean, the people are passionate and kind. They love their city. They take pride in their work. It’s a very, very special place.”

 

He means it, every word. He means it even more when he tells her over dinner that he likes _the town’s lovely blonde hair_. He’s wavering on the edge of telling her the whole truth, that she’s the most brilliant person he’s ever met (and screw the rule that says they can’t date), when Chris sits down with them. Chris, who has firmly established the ‘no dating in the workplace’ rule for every town they’ve ever been in.

 

_It’s probably for the best_ , he thinks as he stares at Chris’ hypo-allergenic carpet.   _After all, in what universe does any version of_ me _deserve to be with any version of Enjolras?_

 

 

Ben drives them back to Pawnee, Chris excitedly talking in the backseat. Leslie asks him, quiet, to take her to city hall. He follows her into the building under the pretence of dropping the files from their trip off at her office. They’re not urgent, but he can’t wait until Monday to see her again. It doesn’t matter if they can’t be together; just being around her is enough.

 

They stand around awkwardly for a few moments before he leaves. He can see her face fall as he turns around.

 

And just like that, it’s not enough anymore, because it’s _upset Leslie_ and he can’t stand it – he can’t leave her there, even though every sign is pointing him away from her – and he’s turning, he’s back in the room.  He’s kissing Leslie Knope – and she’s kissing him back – and he feels like he’s been waiting for this moment his whole life (or even longer).

 

She gasps into his mouth. He draws back, and see how Leslie’s eyes are wide in surprise. She touches her fingers to her lips and his eyes follow the movement.

 

“Grantaire?”

 

Hearing her say his name like that, full of wonder and awe, makes his chest feel tight. He nods and pulls her forward again, because he doesn’t quite have the words for this yet.

 

Moments later, Leslie draws back again. Her cheeks are a little flushed.  She reaches up, cupping his cheek in her palm, and he leans into her touch.

 

“I’ve missed you,” he says.

 

“I’ve been right here the whole time,” says Leslie (says _Enjolras_ ).

 

He kisses her palm, smiling as she blushes at the touch of his lips. “Not all of you.”

 

“I am now,” she says, moving forward to wrap her arms around him. She rests her head on his chest.

 

A warm feeling spreads through him, and he feels _whole_.

 

**Author's Note:**

> In case you were curious amount everyone else:  
> Chris Traeger is Bossuet (incredibly cheerful with incredibly bad luck), and he would eventually move in with the woman from the hospital gift shop (Musichetta) and the doctor who helped him when he had the flu (Joly). One day they’re all be in the kitchen having breakfast together, and Chris cuts his finger while preparing the fruit salad. Joly rushes to help him and Musichetta comes to his other side, and their past lives hit them all at once. They all call in sick to work and spend the day in bed, getting to know each other again.
> 
> Tom is Courfeyrac, and he meets Jehan when he comes in to drop off the entries for Pawnee’s Nature Poetry event (this year’s theme: the Smallest Park). Jehan knows him straight away – he always recognises the others straight away – but it takes Courfeyrac another two years before a verse catches on something in his mind.
> 
> Ann is Combeferre, and she remembers about five minutes after Leslie/Enjolras does – or rather, she remembers as soon as she sees Leslie and Ben standing together (because she’s seem them stand like this before, a long time ago, when they thought everyone had already left the café). Also, imagining Enjolras saying “Combeferre, you beautiful starfish” makes my day.
> 
> Marius comes from Eagleton originally (and he’s really very sorry about that, please stop glaring at him Leslie), and coaches kids baseball in the park on the Eagleton/Pawnee border with Eponine (Eponine also works up on the fourth floor – all the stories about it are true).
> 
> Cosette is a kindergarten teacher, and she’s intensely anti-Sweetums. Their sponsorship is great but she wishes they wouldn’t send candy to the kids – they’re hard enough to wrangle when they’re not full of sugar. She’s taking the kids on a lap of the town so she can get them tired enough for nap time when she bumps into Eponine and Marius on their way baseball pitch. She and Marius recognise each other straight away (although she does insist that she and Marius go on actual dates before they move in together – being married in a past life does not count as a date). It takes a few weeks until it comes back to Eponine – by then she and Cosette are already best friends.
> 
> The find Bahorel through Donna – Tom/Courfeyrac needs security for Rent-a-Swag and Donna recommends a bouncer she knows. He already knows Jehan – he teaches a self-defence class with Jehan.
> 
> Feuilly is the mayor’s aid – he worked his way up from shoe shine assistant to where he is now while studying law and art history via correspondence course from Pawnee Community College. He has a lot of contact with the Pawnee Journal, and that’s where he runs into Jehan (or rather, Jehan runs into him – he was trying to write a couplet down as he walked and wasn’t watching where he was going).
> 
> Montparnasse tried to cause trouble for Lesliejolras’ campaign once, but April’s friend Orin scares him away and he doesn’t try anything like that again.
> 
>  
> 
> Ben’s quote to the Indiana Little League is from 3.14 ‘Road Trip’.
> 
>  
> 
> Feedback is always loved: fangirl-squee.tumblr.com/ask


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